Earth’s north and south poles may not flip so quickly G.GLATZMAIER, LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY/P.ROBERTS, UCLA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY
We appear to be safe from a catastrophic reversal of the north and south magnetic poles, according to evidence showing that the last swap took a lot longer, and was a lot messier, than scientists thought. The magnetic field shields Earth from the sun’s harmful radiation and cosmic rays, so a sudden polarity reversal could affect our power and communications systems, as well as our health.
But a new analysis of lava flows, ocean sediment and Antarctic ice cores found that…
